[firstshadow]

Hi all, the name is Samuel, and I'm an automobile anonymous. I live in the South Bay of Los Angeles, waiting for this awesome little car to come stateside. I've always had a weak spot for euro hatches, and this one is no exception.

I have 2 cars in my stable. The first one is my '03 C32 AMG tuned up to 440hp at the crank that I daily drive, guzzles about 13mpg city 18mpg highway. My second car, which I mainly use as a backup, is a '99 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. I went completely through it since it was my first car - racing bushings where ever I could put them, and some torque cams to top it off. Because it was AWD, it also sucked gas - 18mpg city 27mpg highway. Here are some pics:

I look forward to the Abarth as a possible new daily driver - a small/light peppy car to hopefully make my C32 a weekend car.

 

[jones]

welcome samuel.

please don't ever get rid of the C32, if one has to go make it the subi
The Fiat 500 Abarth will be a fun and fast daily driver, you might end up having trouble deciding to drive the C32 or 500 on weekends haha .......consult us when that happens.

 

[scorpion_power]

I too am an Abarth fan, and am holding out to see what they bring us
If you have not already, check out this thread - http://www.fiat500owners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=528&highlight=abarth+cost

 

[kennyrayandersen]

You're not waiting alone!

In my stable nothing so killer; I've got a restored (mostly)1963 FIAT 500, and a 2004 Smart Fortwo cabriolet.

 

[fiat#183]

You are wise to wait for the Abarth. While I like #183 the lack of power is pretty astonishing and I am not a race car driver by any means.

With the existing power plant the car is a cute little grocery getter. It is really fun on roads where the fastest you can drive is 55 because the roads are twisty.

 

[firstshadow]

Wish they wouldn't make us wait so long for the Abarth to arrive; every month that passes by, I ponder various project cars.

With the existing power plant the car is a cute little grocery getter. It is really fun on roads where the fastest you can drive is 55 because the roads are twisty.

I agree. With the current 100hp it has now, it's just enough to get by - just. I'd rather have too much power instead of just enough.

 

[fiat#183]

Be patient. Those of us with Prima's waited a long time and then saw Fiat deliver production models before we got ours. Prima must mean something different in Italian.

And you can have too many horses. They tend to weigh a lot and eat a bunch and get you into some trouble at the wrong time. An Abarth with 160-180 should be about right. 200 would be a MINI slayer and that would be fun. The MINI does seem to have the right balance in its turbocharged models. The NA MINI is remarkable similar to the Fiat- fun but the pedal is always on the floor.

All that said I had mine out on some curvey roads with the engine running at 5-6000 rpm, esc in the off mode, sport mode selected- not a bad little ride. I scared myself but I am easy.